Electric fuel pump with universal relief valve installed in the pump inlet

In an electric fuel pump for drawing fuel from a fuel tank, pressurizing the fuel, and supplying the pressurized fuel to an engine, a universal relief valve assembly for diverting fuel from an outlet portion of the fuel pump back to the inlet side of the pump, comprising:

• a cartridge mounted in the fuel pump and having an opening extending therethrough for fuel to flow from the outlet portion of the pump back to the inlet side of the pump;
• a relief valve installed in the cartridge and movable from a closed position to an open position by the pressure to which the relief valve is subjected;
• and,
• means installed in the cartridge for biasing the relief valve closed, the cartridge being sized to fit into a variety of fuel pumps having a range of outlet pressures so to reduce the number of relief valve assemblies required to manufacture a line of fuel pumps.